Best overall
Wix Website Builder
Unpack Money score: 89/100
Verified Oct 23, 2026The easiest builder we verified, with a real free plan. Start free; move to Core ($29/mo) to sell.
Home / Small Business / Best Website Builders for Small Businesses
Small Business · All prices verified 2026-10-08
Best website builders for small businesses (2026)
Your website is your storefront, your brochure, and your credibility check — often in that order. The good news: a professional small-business site no longer requires a developer or a big budget. The cheapest credible starting point we verified is $4/month, and two of the four builders below offer genuinely free plans. Every price on this page was verified against the provider's official pricing page on October 8, 2026.
The decision isn't really about templates — all four builders make good-looking sites. It's about what your site needs to do. A portfolio or brochure site has different requirements than an online store, and the price of selling online varies wildly: from $29/month on Wix's Core plan to $45/month on WordPress.com's Commerce plan, each with different transaction fees on top. We unpack the real cost of each tier, including the fees that don't appear in the headline price.
How we make money: Unpack Money may receive compensation when you click certain links or apply for products through our site. Compensation may affect where products appear, but it does not determine our editorial evaluations. Learn more
Our top picks
Best for online stores
Shopify
Unpack Money score: 88/100
Verified Oct 8, 2026Purpose-built for selling from $29/month annual. Overkill for a simple brochure site.
Best value
WordPress.com
Unpack Money score: 87/100
Verified Oct 8, 2026A real ad-free site from $4/month, with plugins now on every paid plan. Steeper learning curve.
Best design
Squarespace
Unpack Money score: 86/100
Verified Oct 8, 2026The prettiest templates we verified from $19/month — but no free plan and fees on lower tiers.
Compare all options
| Product | Starting price | Free trial / plan | Best for | Our score | Check price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wix Website Builder Verified Oct 23, 2026 | From $17/mo (annual) | Free plan (forever) + 14-day money-back guarantee on paid plans | Beginners and small businesses that want a professional site with minimum fuss | 89/100 | Check price |
| Shopify Verified Oct 8, 2026 | From $29/mo (annual) | 3-day free trial, then $1/month for the first 3 months | Anyone whose website exists to sell products | 88/100 | Check price |
| WordPress.com Verified Oct 8, 2026 | From $4/mo (annual) | Free plan (forever, no credit card) | Budget-conscious owners who want maximum flexibility per dollar | 87/100 | Check price |
| Squarespace Verified Oct 8, 2026 | From $19/mo (annual) | 14-day free trial (no free plan) | Design-led businesses where the site itself is the portfolio | 86/100 | Check price |
Prices verified from each provider's official site — oldest check 2026-10-08. Prices change — confirm before you buy.
Make your decision
Not just a table — here's how to choose, who should walk away, and our verdict.
At a glance
| Aspect | Wix Website Builder Verified Oct 23, 2026 | Shopify Shopify Verified Oct 8, 2026 | WordPress.com WordPress.com Verified Oct 8, 2026 | Squarespace Squarespace Verified Oct 8, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Beginners and small businesses that want a professional site with minimum fuss | Anyone whose website exists to sell products | Budget-conscious owners who want maximum flexibility per dollar | Design-led businesses where the site itself is the portfolio |
| Cost | From $17/mo (annual) · Free plan (forever) + 14-day money-back guarantee on paid plans | From $29/mo (annual) · 3-day free trial, then $1/month for the first 3 months | From $4/mo (annual) · Free plan (forever, no credit card) | From $19/mo (annual) · 14-day free trial (no free plan) |
| Main advantage | The gentlest learning curve we verified — a real site can be live in an afternoon | Purpose-built for selling — checkout, shipping, and payments work out of the box | The cheapest paid starting price we verified — $4/month annual for a real, ad-free site | The best-looking templates out of the box — design is Squarespace's core strength |
| Biggest drawback | Light ($17/month) cannot accept online payments — selling starts at Core ($29/month) | No free plan — the trial is only 3 days | Transaction fees on lower tiers: 10% Free, 8% Personal, 4% Premium, 2% Business (plus processor fees) | No free plan — 14-day trial only, then you must pay |
Choose the right one
Choose Wix Website Builder if…
- you want the easiest path to a professional site, starting free
- you might sell online later — Core ($29/month) is there when you're ready
Choose Shopify Shopify if…
- selling online is the point of your site, not a side feature
- you want checkout, shipping, and payments handled out of the box
Choose WordPress.com WordPress.com if…
- you want the lowest real cost — $4/month for an ad-free site with plugins
- you're comfortable with a steeper learning curve in exchange for flexibility
Choose Squarespace Squarespace if…
- visual polish is the product — photographer, studio, restaurant, portfolio
- you'll use Core or higher — only Advanced drops the transaction fees to 0%
Neither is ideal if…
- you need a fully custom design or web app — these builders top out at templates
- you need full code ownership and portability — none of these export your site
- your site is a single landing page — a free landing-page tool may be enough
Better alternatives
Unpack Money Verdict
Wix is the best all-rounder: start free, upgrade to Core ($29/month) when you sell. Shopify wins outright if e-commerce is the job. WordPress.com is the value play at $4/month with plugins now on every paid plan — the tradeoff is the learning curve. Squarespace justifies its premium only when design is the differentiator; otherwise the fees on lower tiers make it the priciest path.
Saved comparisons live on your dashboard — in your browser only.
Wix Website Builder
Verified Oct 23, 2026Wix offers a free plan (with Wix ads and a Wix subdomain) and paid plans from $17/month on Light (annual billing), which adds a custom domain and removes ads. Core ($29/month) unlocks online payments, bookings, and a basic store; Business ($39/month) adds commerce capacity; Business Elite ($159/month) serves high-volume stores. Every Premium plan carries a 14-day money-back guarantee. Annual plans include a free domain for the first year.
Pricing tiers
- Free: $0 — Testing the editor and hobby sites — Wix ads shown, username.wixsite.com subdomain, no online payments
- Light: $17/mo (annual) — Portfolios, freelancers, basic sites — custom domain, no Wix ads, 2 GB storage
- Core: $29/mo (annual) — Growing businesses — accept payments, bookings and events, basic online store
- Business: $39/mo (annual) — Growing stores needing more commerce capacity
- Business Elite: $159/mo (annual) — High-volume and scaling businesses needing maximum resources
What we like
- The gentlest learning curve we verified — a real site can be live in an afternoon
- A genuinely free plan lets you build and test before spending anything
- AI builder plus 2,000+ templates cover nearly every small-business use case
- 14-day money-back guarantee on every paid plan, no questions asked
Watch out for
- Light ($17/month) cannot accept online payments — selling starts at Core ($29/month)
- Storage is tight at the low end (2 GB on Light)
- You can't take your site with you — no code export if you leave the platform
- App Market apps and payment processing fees add cost on top of the subscription
Shopify
Verified Oct 8, 2026Shopify is the commerce-first website platform: Basic starts at $39/month monthly or $29/month on annual billing, with a full online store, unlimited products, and what Shopify calls its best-converting checkout. Grow ($105/month) and Advanced ($399/month) lower card rates and add capacity; Plus starts at $2,300/month for enterprise. New stores get a 3-day free trial, then $1/month for the first 3 months on Basic, Grow, and Advanced. The middle plan was renamed from 'Shopify' to 'Grow' in 2026.
Pricing tiers
- Basic: $39/mo monthly ($29/mo annual) — New stores and solo entrepreneurs — full online store, unlimited products, 2.9% + 30¢ online card rates
- Grow: $105/mo monthly ($79/mo annual) — Small teams — lower card rates; makes sense past roughly $33K/month in sales
- Advanced: $399/mo monthly ($299/mo annual) — Scaling businesses — 15 staff accounts, global reach, live carrier shipping rates
- Plus: From $2,300/mo — Enterprise and high-volume B2B wholesale
What we like
- Purpose-built for selling — checkout, shipping, and payments work out of the box
- $1/month for the first 3 months makes the start nearly free
- Unlimited products and the app ecosystem scale from first sale to enterprise
- Up to 87% shipping discounts meaningfully cut fulfillment costs
Watch out for
- No free plan — the trial is only 3 days
- Using PayPal or Stripe instead of Shopify Payments adds Shopify's own fee on top (2% on Basic)
- International cards add 1% on all plans, plus a 1.5% currency conversion fee on US stores
- True monthly cost often doubles once apps, themes, and fees are added
WordPress.com
Verified Oct 8, 2026WordPress.com offers a free plan (WordPress.com subdomain, ads shown to visitors, 1 GB storage) and paid plans from $4/month on Personal (annual billing) — the cheapest paid starting price we verified. A major 2026 change, confirmed in WordPress.com's own FAQ: plugin installation is now available on every paid plan, previously gated behind Business. Premium ($8/month annual) suits creators; Business ($25/month) adds developer tools; Commerce ($45/month) adds integrated WooCommerce with 0% transaction fees.
Pricing tiers
- Free: $0 — Hobby blogs and testing — WordPress.com subdomain, ads shown to visitors, 1 GB storage, no plugin installs
- Personal: $4/mo annual — Bloggers and personal brands — custom domain (free first year), ad-free, 6 GB storage, plugin installs
- Premium: $8/mo annual — Freelancers and creators — 13 GB storage, video content tools, plugin installs
- Business: $25/mo annual — Small businesses and developers — 50 GB, SFTP/SSH, WP-CLI, Git deployments, staging site
- Commerce: $45/mo annual — Online stores — integrated WooCommerce, unlimited products, 0% transaction fees, 50 GB
What we like
- The cheapest paid starting price we verified — $4/month annual for a real, ad-free site
- Plugins on every paid plan (2026 change) removes the old reason to pay $25+/month
- Fully managed: hosting, security, backups, and updates are all included
- Scales from a free blog to a full WooCommerce store without migrating
Watch out for
- Transaction fees on lower tiers: 10% Free, 8% Personal, 4% Premium, 2% Business (plus processor fees)
- Free plan shows WordPress.com ads to your visitors and offers no custom domain
- Storage caps are modest (6 GB Personal, 13 GB Premium)
- You're on Automattic's platform and terms — less ownership than self-hosted WordPress.org
Squarespace
Verified Oct 8, 2026Squarespace renamed all four tiers in 2026: Basic ($19/month annual, $25 monthly), Core ($29/month annual, $39 monthly, marked 'Recommended'), Plus ($49/month annual, $65 monthly), and Advanced ($99/month annual, $139 monthly). Every plan includes designer templates, a free custom domain for the first year on annual billing, unlimited products, and free invoicing. There is no free plan — only a 14-day free trial. Note the transaction fees: Basic charges 2% on store sales and 7% on courses/memberships; only Advanced reaches 0% across the board.
Pricing tiers
- Basic: $19/mo annual ($25 monthly) — Personal sites, portfolios, blogs — 2 contributors, 2% transaction fee on store sales
- Core: $29/mo annual ($39 monthly) — Small businesses — full business features, CSS/JavaScript customization, API integrations (Recommended)
- Plus: $49/mo annual ($65 monthly) — Growing businesses wanting lower payment processing fees
- Advanced: $99/mo annual ($139 monthly) — Stores maximizing revenue — 0% transaction fees, advanced commerce tools
What we like
- The best-looking templates out of the box — design is Squarespace's core strength
- Unlimited products and free invoicing on every plan, including Basic
- All-in-one: hosting, domain (first year), email (first year), and payments in one bill
- Annual billing saves up to 36% versus monthly, per Squarespace
Watch out for
- No free plan — 14-day trial only, then you must pay
- Transaction fees bite on lower tiers: 2% on store sales (Basic), 5% on digital content (Core)
- The free domain and Google Workspace email renew at standard rates after year one
- Only 2 contributors on Basic; pricier than Wix and WordPress.com at comparable tiers
How we rate website builders
Our editorial score weighs ease of use for a non-technical owner, the true cost of the plan most small businesses will actually need (including transaction fees and the cost of selling online), template quality, and how punishing the platform lock-in is. A cheap plan that can't sell scores below a pricier plan that can. Every price is verified against the provider's official site — never review aggregators — and date-stamped. Read our full rating methodology.
FAQs
Can I build a business website for free?
Yes, to start. Wix and WordPress.com both offer free plans — but with ads, a platform subdomain, and (on Wix) no custom domain. No serious business should stay on a free plan permanently; budget for a paid tier once the site matters.
What's the cheapest way to sell products online?
Of the builders we verified: Wix Core at $29/month (annual) or WordPress.com Commerce at $45/month annual with 0% transaction fees. Shopify Basic ($29/month annual) is the commerce specialist's pick. Watch transaction fees — Squarespace charges 2% on store sales on its Basic plan.
Wix or Squarespace — which is better?
Wix is easier and has a free plan; Squarespace has better-looking templates but no free plan and costs more at comparable tiers. For a design-led business (photographer, studio, restaurant), Squarespace's templates may justify the premium. For everyone else, Wix or WordPress.com.
What changed with WordPress.com in 2026?
Plugin installation — previously gated behind the $25/month Business plan — is now available on every paid plan, confirmed in WordPress.com's own FAQ. That makes the $4/month Personal plan far more capable than before.
Can I move my site off these builders later?
Generally no — none of the hosted builders offer code export, so leaving means rebuilding. WordPress.com gives you the most portability within the WordPress ecosystem. Factor lock-in into your decision, not just the monthly price.
How does Unpack Money make money?
We may earn compensation when you click certain links or sign up for products through our site — clearly disclosed wherever it appears. Compensation may affect where products appear, but it does not determine our editorial evaluations or scores. Learn more.
Sources
Every price on this page was verified against each provider's official website. Verification dates differ by provider — the oldest is 2026-10-08. We never use aggregator sites as sources.
- Wix official pricing (verified 2026-10-23)
- Shopify official pricing (verified 2026-10-08)
- WordPress.com official pricing (verified 2026-10-08)
- Squarespace official pricing (verified 2026-10-08)